Simple Joy
by Waking Hyde
Summary: It's Choutarou's birthday, conveniently placed on the same date as Valentine's day, something everyone seem to be painfully aware of. Choutarou wishes they weren't. But Shishido is just cool about it, just the way Choutarou prefers it.


**A/N: **So yeah, I'm actually not posting this a minute to midnight, for once. I can tell you, I've gone through all of February with this fic in the back of my mind, still unable to figure out how to do it (confused? Check out my profile, this is the third in my birthday fic challenge.) That, and the fact that I'm not in a particularly good mood today equals a sucky fic. It's not really fluffy, not really sappy, it just is. So there.

The biggest issue here is that Choutarou's birthday has been done so many times already! It's impossible to find a new twist to it. Well, I tried, at least. Had it been up to me, I would not have written it because it already exists so many of it. But, alas, it's part of my challenge, so I have to. This is also one of the reasons why it is easier to write underdog fics...

On a side note: Shishido got a much bigger role in this story than he was originally meant to (he was going to say one sentende at the end. ONE sentece.) Then he grabbed the Atobe effect: worming his way into the fic without me having any means to stop him. Stooopid Atobe. Also, they might be slightly OOC (mainly because I believe Choutarou would have accepted the gifts and Shishido would not have brushed them of like he does.). But who cares.

**Warnings: **... None. Wow. Wait - un-beta'd text. Yay. And again - me being unable to name things should also count as a warning.

**Disclaimer: **None of this belongs to me in any form. Uhm... Yeah. So THERE.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

* * *

**Simple Joy**

It had always been the same. Ever since kindergarten, when the kids first got around to really understanding the concept of "birthday" and "Valentine's day", they had realized what particular date Ohtori Choutarou was born on. Of course, the silver-haired boy had always been immensely popular, although this proved to not only have positive consequences. Especially on his birthday, also known as the Valentine's Day.

The girls in particular, seemed to find this extremely fitting. "Choutarou is the kindest sweetheart ever, it's so adorable that Valentine's day is his birthday!" They would often scream, or rather squeal, as that particular day approached. None of them hesitated to go out of their way to make him their own special chocolate, or present him with a magnificent gift, wrapped in dozens of overwhelming bands which appeared more suiting on a royal headdress from medieval times.

Others would try other things, like telling him about how little they cared about Valentine's day, that they only cared because it was his birthday. Choutarou would only smile gently and brush them off, telling them that he did not deserve that much attention from such beautiful girls. To which they would giggle, whisper to each other and run off blushing with the same ferocity that gave life to the expression "like a lovestruck school girl".

Choutarou would always sigh deeply after this. He knew they meant well, but he also knew that it was not true. They would not have made such a big deal about his birthday had it not been on Valentine's Day. Despite saying the opposite, it still applied. They always made a big number out of showing how _little _they cared about Valentine's day, and how much they instead cared about his birthday. Had he been born on, say February 15th, they would never have made such a big number about remembering his birthday above their Math test. Also, not even Atobe's fangirls made such a big deal about his birthday. This, of course, was noted by Shishido and Mukahi, much to their amusement and the captain's reluctant chagrin.

Other people might wish for more attention around their birthdays. Choutarou wished the opposite.

This time was no different. From the moment Choutarou entered the school ground, he heard the sounds of crazy girls approaching.

"Ohtori-saaan!"

"Choutarou!"

"Ohtori!"

"Ohtori-kun!"

"Choutarou-chan!"

"Hey, girls," Choutarou greeted the dozen sheepishly as they clumsily stumbled over each other in their haste to give him their respective gifts.

"Ohtori-san, would you like a birthday AND Valentine's present from me?"

"No, what about mine? It's chocolate made especially for Ohtori-kuun!"

"I don't care that it's Valentine's day Choutarou, I just want you to have a gift for your birthday!"

"My, my, you girls are too sweet…" Choutarou said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. Of course, this only increased the loud squealing from the girls. "But I really can't take all of these gifts…"

"Why not?"

"Well, if I would accept all of your gifts, and all those people will give me later, I'll be buried before second period, right?" he smiled sweetly, causing all the girls to melt and let him pass without accepting the gifts, although they would probably regret it later. Choutarou, at the moment, was only glad he had been blessed with such a sweet smile.

He was not so fortunate with the next group, though. It was only a small group of three, but they were more persistent than any other he could ever remember.

"Ohtori-kuuuuun!" they called in unison from across the hall. Choutarou, who had been at his locker gathering his books, could only turn around in confusion before a seemingly rabid group of three pushed through the crowds with an alarming speed.

"Ohtori-kun!" They squealed again as he blinked at them, confused, and maybe a tad bit scared.

"Please accept these gifts!" they said and presented him with maybe the most decorated gifts he had seen all day, dolled with to the point of looking more like a piece of art than a gift. He also noted the size of these, compared to the rest.

"No, girls, I couldn't possibly…"

"PLEASE!" one of them clasped her hands together, going down on her knees as if in prayer.

"We stayed up seven nights in a row to make these perfect for Ohtori-kun! He must accept them!"

Choutarou wanted to frown, but resisted the urge and merely stretched out a hand to help the girl to her feet again instead. The girl, however, saw this as acceptance for her gift and with lightening-fast reflexes snatched it from her friend and placed it in his hand.

Choutarou blinked, dumbfounded, and stared at the gift in his hand.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Ohtori-kun!" the girl squealed, looking ready to pass out any second. The other two took this as a go-ahead sign and pressed their gifts in his face, trying to make him accept them as well.

"Uhm, I'm sorry girls, but – "

"Please, Ohtori-kun!"

"Come on, we worked so hard on these!"

"My, your attention is wasted," Choutarou tried to reason. "I can't accept these – "

"Why not?!"

"Well, I haven't accepted any other gifts today, so that would be rude, and – "

"Wah, Ohtori-kuuuun!" they started wailing, much to Choutarou's displeasure. He wished Shishido was here, he was so much better at these things.

"Uhm, I need to go now, my class is starting…"

"Wait, Ohtori-kun, it's your birthday, and Valentine's day! You've got to accept our humble declarations of love!"

"No, I really need to go now…"

"Ohtori-kun - !"

But that was all Choutarou heard as he desperately made a run for his classroom before the girls could follow. Hopefully, they did not know what class he had next.

It continued that way throughout the day, with as many gifts as usual, if not more. He was given gifts by his juniors and seniors alike. His popularity had only increased since his success on the tennis team with Shishido. For better or worse. It was actually a relief, though, when a group of five girls, seemingly much more relaxed and calm than those before, approached him slowly.

"Hi, Ohtori-kun," one of them said with a bright smile.

"Hi," he greeted back in the same fashion as he did with the rest of the girls.

"We, uhm, heard it was your birthday today," another one said. Come think of it, Choutarou could only vaguely remember seeing these girls before, but he could not remember where. It was not the usual girls who swarmed over him in class…

"Yeah, Shishido told us so," another chimed in. Oh, so that was where he had seen them before. They were Shishido's fangirls.

"On Valentine's day as well! How cute! Well, we tried to give Shishido-san these, but… You know how he is…" They showed him a small bunch of gifts, much smaller and less… Flamboyant, in lack of a better word, than those he used to receive. Choutarou had not been friends with Shishido for any Valentine's, but he did not seem surprised that Shishido did not accept them. He seemed like the type.

"He said it was your birthday, so that we could give them to you instead…" One of them proceeded. They did not seem as disappointed as one would expect, though.

"Or rather barked," another added, a tint of admiration in her eyes. Right, of course they did not mind, the bad boy image appealed to them, they should expect it.

"That's…" Choutarou began, unsure of how to phrase himself. "Very nice of you girls, but I'm already getting tons of gifts from the girls in my class…" Or rather the one-eighth part of the female population that did not fawn over the rest of the tennis regulars. Fortunately, they only smiled and said they did not mind, before leaving him alone. Choutarou sighed in relief. It seemed like they were prepared for rejection even before they approached Shishido.

Speaking of which, he had not seen Shishido all day. He frowned. As fond as he was of Shishido, he really hoped the older boy did not go out of his way doing… Something… For Choutarou today. He could not really imagine what that would be, but with Shishido, you never knew.

He was just coming out from the locker rooms, ready for practice (still without having seen his tennis partner), when he heard the familiar sound of girls around the corner. He contemplated the option of returning to the locker rooms, but figured it would be useless, seeing as the girls would only wait, hours if they needed to. He mentally braced himself for another rejection as the wave got around the corner. It appeared to consist mostly of girls he had already rejected, but also a few new.

"Ohtori – "

"Choutarou!" A harsh, but familiar voice cut through the soft cries of the lovesick girls. Choutarou smiled, his first genuine smile today.

"What are you slacking off for?" Shishido glared, his gaze shifting to the girls. "They botherin' you?"

Choutarou openend his mouth to answer, but did not really know what to say. As flattered as he was, _yes, _they bothered him. But he could not say that in front of them either…

Shishido saved him the trouble, though. "Never mind, they're botherin' me. Ya hear that? Get out of here now, we're gonna play tennis here!"

The girls cowered under the frightful scowl he sent them, and eventually scampered off, muttering about 'how sweet Ohtori-san would choose such an awful person as his friend…'

Shishido turned to the grateful Choutarou and smiled slightly.

"Thanks, Shishido-san," Choutarou said with a bright smile. "You really saved me there…"

"Don't mention it," Shishido replied, turning away slightly. "Let's just play some tennis, and I'll take you out for birthday burgers after that, right?" Not waiting for an answer, he stalked over to the court, keeping his pace slow, waiting for Choutarou.

"Yeah, thanks, Shishido!"

Never mind that they always went out for burgers. It appeared like Shishido had known all along what Choutarou wanted, and the younger boy had never had a better birthday.

* * *

Hm, I don't really know what I think of this fic. Tch. Please review and tell me what YOU think, though!


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